Wichita father accused of killing son ‘wanted to make him a tough person’

KDOC photo (2017)
Jazz Gwyn

WICHITA, Kan. (KAKE) –

A Wichita father accused of killing his 6-month-old son told authorities he wanted to make the the boy the toughest kid by the age of five, according to an arrest affidavit.

Dorl Gwyn is charged with first-degree murder in commission of a felony in the death of Jazz Gwyn, who died at a local hospital on April 10. Police say the boy’s parents took him to the hospital that morning after he quit breathing. Jazz died at the hospital.

Gwyn had said he was shadow boxing and roughhousing with Jazz when his eyes rolled back and he possibly quit breathing.

"Dorl said they started to come to the hospital but the child started crying so they went back into the house," the document states. "He told the nurse that he put the baby in a walker in a room and left for an unknown amount of time. When they went back to check on the baby, he was slumped over and not breathing and they took him to the hospital."

Gwyn later told investigators that he had put Jazz on a bed and propped him up with pillows and they began play fighting.

The affidavit says, "He said he was not mad and did not hit out of anger. He said he believed when JCG (Jazz) was old enough to start crawling he was old enough to roughhouse. He said he wanted to make him a tough person and his goal was to make him the toughest kid by five (5) years of age."

Jazz suffered multiple injuries including a laceration to the right atrium of his heart, two healing rib fractures, blood in his chest cavity and abdomen, bruising to his abdomen and head injuries.

"Dorl was advised of these injuries and he said he thought it was alright to hit a kid in the body but not the head," the document says.

The child’s maternal grandmother, Karen Bradley, says she believes this wasn’t horseplay and that Gwyn abused the baby.